Weekend recipes & DIY Granola

So this weekend, my dad made an amazing marinara sauce and meatballs. Though he started with a base of pre-made marinara, I was very impressed with this "processed" food - only 7 ingredients, and I approved of all of them except one (citric acid, a preservative). We used the "Sweet Basil and Garlic" marinara from Dell'Amore. http://www.dellamore.com/16-oz-cases/sweet-basil-garlic

My dad started by chopping up some onion, roasted garlic, fresh basil (from our garden!), and carrots (for some sweetness). He sautéed all this in some olive oil until it simmered down. Then he added some balsamic vinegar. You can add salt and black pepper if you like, but we didn't this time. (We try to avoid extra salt at home and I don't like anything too spicy) Then my dad added the Dell'Amore sauce and the meatballs, which he makes from scratch! He makes them with ground beef, italian seasoned breadcrumbs, garlic powder, and black pepper and browns them in a pan with oil.

To top it off we added some mozzarella cheese and some freshly grated Romano cheese. Molto delizioso!

With all the leftover whole wheat pasta that I made, I decided to make a cold pasta salad (which my dad also helped me with). It was surprisingly easy, taking less than 10 minutes. We chopped up some carrots, green onions/scallions, cherry tomatoes, broccoli, zucchini, and an orange pepper and tossed it all with the pasta. Then my dad made a vinaigrette of olive oil, white vinegar, and an italian seasoning which he mixed in. Finally we added some grated parmigiano and romano cheese.

Last but not least, I made some granola! I don't know why I haven't done this before, it's so easy! After getting frustrated with the additives and sugars in even the health food store granolas, I decided to make my own. I didn't have all the spices I wanted at home and didn't find the extra honey in the cabinet to complete the recipe until after the granola was already baking, but it still turned out great.

I melted 6 Tbsn of butter with about 2 Tbsn of honey and then mixed it all up with one can of rolled oats. Next time I'll probably add more honey and some organic fruit concentrates. Once it's all mixed up, you simply spread it all in an even layer on a baking sheet (with parchment paper laid underneath) and bake for 75 minutes at 250 degrees. Now I probably have enough granola to last me months - I'll have to share some!